Time to reflect on this summer transfer window (and what a window it was)

[Guest Knightrider]

not sure on the very very good manager thing: he's good enough for us, certainly, at the moment. Beynd that? I really don't know.

 

He does tick most boxes and when you sit and analyse what the likes of Mourinho and Rafa are good at - two similar managers in their approach and methods - he is equal in many respects. He lacks their experience and pedigree of course but I'm hoping that will come with managing Newcastle. He certainly has the right tools to prove himself in their company if you like not only within himself but through the club too with our fanbase, finances and untapped potential. I think we have a good one here and he might just be the one. Fingers crossed.

 

 

I can never make my mind up if they are actually tactically ahead of him in overall setting a side out...Mourinho is a big reader of the game...At his best when he is moody mind or when he's just lost his dog.

 

Match preparation is where it's at and Big Sam is as good as any in that respect and certainly up there with the likes of Mourinho, if not better. Tactically Mourinho is arguably ahead of everyone else during the game, his mind as you say, is very sharp and he reads the game so well. Many a time he alone has affected a result with his tactics, subs or plain old mind games. He's streets ahead of most. However I've always said if you keep being forced into making tactical changes and changes to your lineup during the game then there is a chink in your match preparation. There has been many a time where Mourinho has fielded the wrong starting 11 and started with the wrong tactics and sometimes no amount of changes during the game can reverse that, ala Villa at the weekend.

 

Its during the match where i think Allardyce is far weaker.

 

I agree, although not by far, but you're right he is tactically weaker than the likes of Mourinho and Benitez during a game, however they have their minus points too and where they are stronger than Allardyce in some areas, our manager is also stronger than them in some departments too, least of all buying and selling, match preparation and other off the pitch stuff. He's second to none in that respect in my opinion.

 

I remember not long after we appointed Sam a Bolton fan saying if you gave Allardyce Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool he'd win things too, but could those managers do for Bolton what he did? That struck a chord with me because I doubt any of them could have done the job he did for Bolton while it isn't out of the realms of possibility that Allardyce couldn't say, win the League for Chelsea with £200m to spend on players or finish in 4th place like Arsenal have done the past few years, he was for 7 months of last season just a few points off 4th with Bolton after all.

 

He has vast experience too, having managed at every level bar international, from non-league to European football, albeit briefly.

 

All this will stand us in good stead.

[Dave]

Can someone figure out what our estimated net spending was?

 

About £10m with a few guesses.

[Ikon]

Can someone figure out what our estimated net spending was?

 

About £10m with a few guesses.

 

 

I read somewhere that it was just around £8m. Dont know how accurate that was though, around £10m sounds more reasonable..

[greydos]

Please don't shoot me down as a pessimist, as i'm not, but i want to inject a different perspective and some other thoughts on what's happened at the club this summer.

 

Sam's transfers in have been very good, can't fault who has has brought in, bar smith. Unecessary signing, and seemed as though it was the type of reactionary purchase that all in this thread are saying he doesn't got for,( i.e he plans all his signings meticulously etc). This doesn't seem the case as he said something along the lines of "as soon as i heard he was going i said snap him up"). I think that tells us he didn't actually plan for alan smith, at least not on trying to lure him here. and i can't see where smith fits in.

 

Similarly, the Enrique transfer, allardyce said something like "the chairman rang me up and said, we can get enrique, do you want him for Xmillion?". That to me is ambiguous as to whether he was planned for and targeted or not, especially as many rumours had us after dragutinovic.

 

In terms of tactics and playing style, i'm a bit concerned. We're turning into a team that are very strong, solid, and will fight for every last ball. We will rarely, if ever, experience a 5-0 defeat against birmingham at home under Allardyce. And that's a positive. But i just wonder, given all the money in the world, what Big Sam's IDEAL style of play would be. Would he still want balls in the box targetting mistakes of other defenders, or prefer a better more exciting style which relies not on mistakes of the opposition, but the brilliance of us being able to open them up with our attacks.

 

The final point i would make is that, Big Sam has said some things that i just don't like to hear, now matter how true it is, and i wouldn't want him to say those things internally in the club, to players/staff etc. Such as "heinze would probably want to go to a bigger club than us". i would much prefer him to say, "if heinze wants a challenege at another genuine big club, there could be an opportunity for him here" etc. Basically, backing ourselves. There was one thing that i did agree with Glenn Roeder saying, and that is, we should not be overawed by the big teams and think they're different and better than us, we should have a more positive strong attitude. We're newcastle, we're a big club, a good team. Back yourselves to be better than others.

[Guest Knightrider]

Please don't shoot me down as a pessimist, as i'm not, but i want to inject a different perspective and some other thoughts on what's happened at the club this summer.

 

Nowt wrong with your post Greydos, good healthy analysis of a few things that have concerned you, valid concerns.

 

Sam's transfers in have been very good, can't fault who has has brought in, bar smith. Unecessary signing, and seemed as though it was the type of reactionary purchase that all in this thread are saying he doesn't got for,( i.e he plans all his signings meticulously etc). This doesn't seem the case as he said something along the lines of "as soon as i heard he was going i said snap him up"). I think that tells us he didn't actually plan for alan smith, at least not on trying to lure him here. and i can't see where smith fits in.

 

Every manager makes a compulsive purchase or two and while we all know the manager likes to carry out due diligence on any potential target, Smith is one of those players where research wouldn't be needed because he knows exactly what kind of player and character he is. I'm sure Big Sam didn't buy him without reason though. Remember at the time we didn't know whether Martins and Owen would stay and even so, Martins wouldn't be available for us come January due to the African Nations Cup and neither would Geremi. Meanwhile we'd lost Barton to injury which ruled him out for the start of the season. Smith's versatility, quality (in the manager's opinion, he obviously rates him) and availability may have made the decision to sign him an easy one. Anyway, regardless, I think Smith will prove a shrewd signing so I have no problems with the purchase.

 

Similarly, the Enrique transfer, allardyce said something like "the chairman rang me up and said, we can get enrique, do you want him for Xmillion?". That to me is ambiguous as to whether he was planned for and targeted or not, especially as many rumours had us after dragutinovic.

 

Didn't Enrique say Allardyce had known about him for a while? If so that may indicate, while not a planned signing, that the manager knew all about him beforehand enough to have a reason to sign him. I doubt Allardyce would sign any player unless he had a good reason to do so.

 

Btw did you know he uses a database of players he taps into and adds profiles and scouting reports to? Maybe Enrique was on the database.

 

In terms of tactics and playing style, i'm a bit concerned. We're turning into a team that are very strong, solid, and will fight for every last ball. We will rarely, if ever, experience a 5-0 defeat against birmingham at home under Allardyce. And that's a positive. But i just wonder, given all the money in the world, what Big Sam's IDEAL style of play would be. Would he still want balls in the box targetting mistakes of other defenders, or prefer a better more exciting style which relies not on mistakes of the opposition, but the brilliance of us being able to open them up with our attacks.

 

I think our style will be a bit of both, very similar to Chelsea and Liverpool's style. It was a myth that Bolton played awful football, because they really didn't. For me we played some good stuff at home to Wigan, and that's how we'll tend to play more often than not with a few class performances and a few rotten ones punctuating the overall pattern of that kind of performance. Not that I care myself, winning is more important.

 

The final point i would make is that, Big Sam has said some things that i just don't like to hear, now matter how true it is, and i wouldn't want him to say those things internally in the club, to players/staff etc. Such as "heinze would probably want to go to a bigger club than us". i would much prefer him to say, "if heinze wants a challenege at another genuine big club, there could be an opportunity for him here" etc. Basically, backing ourselves. There was one thing that i did agree with Glenn Roeder saying, and that is, we should not be overawed by the big teams and think they're different and better than us, we should have a more positive strong attitude. We're newcastle, we're a big club, a good team. Back yourselves to be better than others.

 

I didn't like that myself, a defeatists attitude. I hate that kind of attitude in fact. However it's all about balance isn't it? Delusion vs realism? I'd take in between myself: honesty! The proof will of course be in the pudding. If Enrique becomes a top player for us or if we do well, what Big Sam says is pretty irrelevant, no?

[Mr Logic]

On the subject of flair players I realise no-one would categorize Barton as such, but he is the sort of player that can make things happen.

Once he's fit and firing on all cylinders he'll bring a lot more to the team than Dyer ever did imo, albeit lacking the extra pace of Dyer.

[greydos]

Fair enough points HTT. I wasn't aware of this 'database', would be very interested to know where you got this from? (is this some kind of subtle FM 2006 joke?)

 

Not sure i read Enrique's quotes about BS being after him for a while, i know rozenhal said that, but fair enough if he did say. Ultimately, the Enrique situation is a matter of time and coaching. My two biggest concerns are really that ideally, Big Sam's vision of how to win a football match would be all about being strong and percentage football, relying on the human errors of the oppositions, as opposed to wanting to rip the opposition open and gut them, ala Ferguson, Wenger Keegan.

 

Still, many many positives. Chuffed with keeping N'Zogbia, and the defence is marvellous. The fact that he's brought in specialists to the club has been good, and also, he brings an added discipline and noticeable team spirit, without making that what he's all about (al Souness).

 

I think the most pleasing aspect of Allardyce for me is, his desire to get controversial players in and manage them. Souness with Robert and Bellamy just shirked the challenge, couldn't hack a bit of attitude for the sake of the team. Roeder would freeze people out. Big Sam relished having Barton here for what he gave the team, and backed himself to overcome problems that players can present. It's that self-belief, epitomised in the manager, which if it gets through to the team, i think will really take us far

[Guest optimistic nit]

As I said in the other thread, I'm more than happy but the addition of a creative force in the middle ala Deco or Riquelme would have made me as giddy as a school girl.

 

The other concern may be the squad size, it was commonly acknowledged last year that the squad was too small and numbers wise it has gone down (although the strength in depth has undoubtably gone up). we don't have europe to put strain on the squad this time and Sam's methods should also help prevent us from witnessing the regular injury crisis we tend to get at some point in the season. We may still need to bolster in January but time will tell I guess.

 

 

Given Harper

Carr Beye

Taylor Rozy, Cacapa, Faye, Edgar

Baba Enrique

Milner Geremi

Smith Emre Butt Barton

Zog Duff

Martins Owen Viduka Ameobi

 

 

Thats 2 players for every position.

[Guest Knightrider]

Fair enough points HTT. I wasn't aware of this 'database', would be very interested to know where you got this from? (is this some kind of subtle FM 2006 joke?)

 

Can't remember where I read about it but I did, and no it's not a joke about Football Manager 2006. Mourinho and Rafa use the same database I think, in fact it wouldn't surprise me if most clubs did as it's open source if you like, available to anyone willing to pay. It is down to the managers to add their own scouting reports and what they do with all the data though. It does exist because I tried to get it for here but was put off by the 400K price tag a year or something Looked fantastic mind and gets updated in real time, covers all the major nations' leagues right down to the lowest divisions. Sky did a feature on it a while back, they basically got the idea from FM and games like it.

 

Not sure i read Enrique's quotes about BS being after him for a while, i know rozenhal said that, but fair enough if he did say. Ultimately, the Enrique situation is a matter of time and coaching. My two biggest concerns are really that ideally, Big Sam's vision of how to win a football match would be all about being strong and percentage football, relying on the human errors of the oppositions, as opposed to wanting to rip the opposition open and gut them, ala Ferguson, Wenger Keegan.

 

It's a strange one, one week I'd watch Bolton and they would play some good stuff and the next, they basically beat up a team, usually the likes of Arsenal. At Newcastle with better players and higher demands for good football, I don't know. I think he'll adapt and get a balance between the two. Whether he gets the right balance, remains to be seen. I don't think he will with this team, but in a few transfer windows, he will, I'm sure.

 

Still, many many positives. Chuffed with keeping N'Zogbia, and the defence is marvellous. The fact that he's brought in specialists to the club has been good, and also, he brings an added discipline and noticeable team spirit, without making that what he's all about (al Souness).

 

I think the most pleasing aspect of Allardyce for me is, his desire to get controversial players in and manage them. Souness with Robert and Bellamy just shirked the challenge, couldn't hack a bit of attitude for the sake of the team. Roeder would freeze people out. Big Sam relished having Barton here for what he gave the team, and backed himself to overcome problems that players can present. It's that self-belief, epitomised in the manager, which if it gets through to the team, i think will really take us far

 

Good stuff and I agree, great to witness and about bloody time we've had someone like that. You can guarantee with Allardyce his own (huge) ego won't get in the way of the team. Ben Hiam put in a transfer request last season and it would have been easy for Sam to not play him but he did and he did with Stelios too, despite the player openly criticising Sam for not letting him join Liverpool a few years back. When asked about it he would say "We are men and we've dealt with it, Stelios is a good player and an important one to Bolton" or words to that effect. His man management skills are first-class.